On the Variability of Antarctic Circumpolar Current Fronts Inferred from 1992–2011 Altimetry ...

• Main Authors: Kim, Yong Sun, Orsi, Alejandro
• Format: Dataset
• Language: unknown
• Published: SEANOE 2014
• Subjects: Antarctic Circumpolar Current ACC; Fronts; Altimetry; ENSO; SAM; Climate Change; Antarc*; Antarctic
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.17882/70980; http://www.seanoe.org/data/00598/70980/

Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) fronts, defined as water mass boundaries, have been known to respond to large-scale atmospheric variabilities, especially the Southern Hemisphere annular mode (SAM) and El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Distinct patterns of localized variability in meridional front displacements during 1992–2011 are derived from the analysis of satellite sea surface height data. Major basin-scale differences are found between the southeast Pacific (150–90W) and the southeast Indian (75–150E) sectors of the ACC. Frontal positions in the southeast Pacific show large year-to-year meridional fluctuations, attributed mostly to ENSO and in part SAM, and no apparent seasonal cycles or long-term trends. In contrast, summer (winter) frontal locations in the southeast Indian extend farther to the south (north) of their long- term mean distribution. A southward drift of ACC fronts is indicated over the Indian sector during the past two decades. This long-term shift is not directly related to the ...